Adorno and Horkheimer, famously argued for the commercialization
of culture in capitalist societies and suggested that the emerged form of
popular culture subdued society into passivity and manipulated the masses to
capitalist goals. Although, their argument was quite strongly against this
transformation of culture, it is a very interesting phenomenon, one that has
significantly impacted upon religion in our society.
We can see this through assessing the religious displays made by
popular celebrities, such as Justin Bieber. There have been various examples of
him expressing his Christian faith publically, such as getting a tattoo of
Jesus on his calf (IMBd, 27 February 2013). Bieber is probably one of the most
popular artists of today, clearly his music is produced for commercial and
financial success, but his popularity gives him great influence over his fans. Adorno
and Horkheimer would suggest Bieber’s open promotion of his religion is another
example of popular culture creating false psychological needs within the general
public, in this case for religion, and basically telling us what to do.
However, this is probably an overly pessimistic view of the trend of religion
in popular culture. At the most basic level, I think it shows that our society,
with all its flaws, is quite liberal and allows these types of religious
expressions freely, which is nothing to be pessimistic about. However, I can
see why some would argue that religion being involved with commercial enterprise
in this way degrades the meaning of that religion. Yet, this can also be seen
as the continuation of the spread of religious ideas that has taken place
throughout time. Religious leaders were prominent members of society 500 years
ago and influenced the way the general public viewed religion; pop culture
icons are doing much the same thing today.
http://theotherjournal.com/amishjihadi/files/2012/01/justin-bieber-jesus-tattoo1.jpg
References
Adorno T & M Horkheimer. 1973. 'Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass
Deception', in The
Dialectics of Enlightenment, trans. J.
Cumming. Verso, London.
IMBd, ‘Justin Beiber Adds Another Religious Tattoo’, 27 February
2013.http://www.imdb.com/news/ni47954960/).
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